k tt/nywr 

Of  THE 

2 dec  1914 


The  Milk  Supply  of  the  Cities  of 
Urbana  and  Champaign 
Illinois 


PROF.  HORATIO  N.  PARKER 

University  of  Illinois 


Reprinted  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  International  Association  of  Dairy 
and  Milk  Inspectors— 1913. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/milksupplyofcitiOOpark 


{£>  i 

Reprinted  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  International  Association  of  Dairy 
and  Milk  Inspectors — 1913. 


THE  MILK  SUPPLY  OF  THE  CITIES  OF  URBANA 
AND  CHAMPAIGN,  ILLINOIS. 


Prof.  Horatio  N.  Parker^  University  of  Illinois.. 


■p- 

/> 


) 


This  Association  has  heard  how  large  cities  with  generous 
appropriations,  staffs  of  inspectors  and  well  organized  health 
departments,  backed  by  police  power,  improve  their  milk  sup- 
plies, but  it  has  not  been  told  of  the  milk  problem  in  small 
cities.  Therefore,  the  situation  in  Urbana  and  Champaign 
is  described  in  the  belief  that  the  story  is  interesting  in  itself 
and  that  it  exemplifies  conditions  throughout  the  United  States 
in  cities  of  like  size  and  similar  sanitary  education  or  advance- 
ment. 

The  twin  cities,  as  they  are  called,  are  in  Champaign  County, 
126  miles  southwest  of  Chicago.  From  a sanitary  standpoint 
they  compose  a single  community,  having  an  area  of  6 square 
miles,  a resident  population  of  22,500,  and  a floating  population 
4,300,  composed  of  the  students  and  faculty  of  the  University 
of  Illinois.  Because  of  the  division  of  the  community  into  two 
cities  it  is  not  governed  by  uniform  laws  and  so  civic  prob- 
lems are  handled  differently.  Amongst  other  things,  this  is 
true  of  the  sanitation,  including  the  administration  of  the  milk 
codes  of  the  two  cities.  Urbana  trusts  in  a board  of  health 
of  two  members,  physicians,  at  a salary  of  $100  a year  each, 
and  Champaign  in  a health  officer,  a physician,  at  $180  a year. 
However,  the  milk  codes  of  the  two  cities,  which  were  enacted 
about  two  years  ago,  are  practically  identical,  having  been 
drawn  up  by  B.  R.  Rickards,  then  a member  of  the  University 
faculty.  The  codes  were  thought  by  Professor  Rickards  to 
be  well  adapted  to  the  conditions  that  obtain  in  the  two  cities. 
The  principal  provisions  are : 

1.  All  persons  selling  milk  shall  take  out  a license  therefor. 

2.  No  whole  milk  shall  be  sold  that  (a)  contains  over 
100,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centimeter;  that  (b)  has  a tempera- 


2 


ture  of  more  than  60°  F.,  or  that  (c)  contains  less  than  12  per 
cent  total  solids  of  which  not  less  than  3.25  per  cent  shall  be 
butter  fat. 

3.  No  milk  shall  be  sold  that  contains  water  or  any  added 
foreign  substance. 

4.  No  milk  shall  be  sold  from  any  cow  within  15  days  before 
or  5 days  after  parturition,  and  no  milk  shall  be  sold  at  any 
time  from  cows  with  inflamed  udders  or  from  cows  known  to 
be  tuberculous. 

5.  Dealers  must  notify  the  City  Clerk  of  the  occurrence  of 
communicable  disease  in  his  family  or  amongst  his  employees. 

6.  Milk  bottles  shall  not  be  removed  from  premises  whereon 
infectious  disease  exists. 

7.  Wagons  and  stores  wherefrom  milk  is  offered  for  sale 
must  be  clean.  Milk  must  be  sold  in  bottles  or  in  original 
covered  containers. 

8.  Milk  containing  over  100,000  bacteria  per  cubic  centi- 
meter shall  be  considered  unfit  for  sale  and  shall  not  be  pas- 
teurized. 

9.  The  Mayor  shall  appoint  some  one  to  collect  milk  samples, 
at  least  once  in  two  weeks,  from  each  licensed  dealer,  and  to 
submit  them  to  a competent  person  for  chemical  and  bacterial 
analysis.  The  results  of  these  analyses  shall  be  open  to  public 
inspection  in  the  offices  of  the  city  clerks. 

10.  Fines  and  the  revocation  of  the  license  are  provided  as 
suitable  penalties  for  infraction  of  the  codes. 

Soon  after  the  enactment  of  these  ordinances,  verbal  agree- 
ments were  made  with  the  two  cities  that  samples  collected  for 
analysis  should  be  examined  at  the  University  free  of  charge. 
Professor  Rickards  made  this  promise  because  he  was  actively 
interested  in  getting  the  ordinances  passed,  and  because  he 
believed  that  the  University  had  a responsibility  to  the  students 
in  the  matter  of  making  a safe,  wholesome  milk  supply  avail- 
able for  their  use.  The  result  sought  in  the  passage  of  these 
laws  was  not  attained,  for  there  has  been  virtually  no  attempt 
to  enforce  them.  In  Urbana  thirty  (30)  licenses  have  been 


3 


taken  out  in  the  two  years  that  have  lapsed  since  the  passage  of 
the  ordinances  and  no  samples  of  milk  have  been  submitted  for 
analysis.  In  Champaign,  56  licenses  were  taken  soon  after  the 
ordinance  was  passed  and  a milk  inspector  collected  a few 
samples,  but  in  effect  the  law  has  been  dead,  though  within  a 
few  weeks  past  a newly  appointed  health  officer  has  had  a good 
many  samples  collected.  It  is  believed  that  no  one  in  either 
city  has  ever  been  punished  for  violating  the  code.  In  truth, 
then,  here  is  an  unregulated  milk  supply,  concerning  which  the 
following  facts  are  presented  from  data  that  have  been  grad- 
ually accumulating  during  the  past  two  years.  The  estimates 
of  the  quantity  of  milk  used  are  based  on  careful  inquiry 
amongst  dealers  and  have  been  checked  up  by  questioning 
restaurateurs,  ice  cream  manufacturers,  confectioners,  and 
others.  It  is  believed  that  the  figures  are  right  within  ten 
per  cent. 

The  bulk  of  the  milk  consumed  in  the  twin  cities  is  produced 
on  the  flat  prairie  land  of  the  corn  belt,  and  is  brought  by 
wagon  from  farms  lying  within  a radius  of  ten  (10)  miles 
from  the  University.  Some  milk  is  brought  by  interurban  rail- 
way from  the  following  places : 

City.  Miles  Gallons  Daily. 

Koch  Crossing  6 , 15 

Bondville  7 20 

St.  Joseph 10  15 

Rantoul  14  5 

White  Heath 17  60 

Total ’ 115 

By  steam  railroad  milk  comes  from: 

City.  Railroad.  Miles.  Gallons  Daily. 

Bloomington Big  4 , 60  24 

Paxton  L C.  25  24 

Kankakee  I.  C.  72  24 

Manteno I.  C.  80  24 

Chicago  I.  C.  126  Occasionally 

Total 96 


4 


Farmers  are  paid  20c.  a gallon  for  milk  delivered  at  the 
creameries.  Bottled  milk  sells  at  10c.  a quart  and  5c.  a pint; 
loose  milk  sells  at  8c.  a quart,  or  in  a few  places  at  7c. 

The  total  daily  consumption  of  milk  is  1,200  gallons.  The 
milk  is  distributed  by  20  dairymen  who  have  been  in  the  busi- 
ness long  enough  to  be  regarded  as  permanent  purveyors,  and 
by  20  to  25  farmers  who  maintain  a wagon  route  for  a month 
or  so  and  then  stop  delivery  until  the  spirit  moves  them  to 
begin  again.  Two  dairymen  deliver  thirty  (30)  per  cent  of 
the  supply  and  seven  dairymen  deliver  seventy  (70)  per  cent. 
The  daily  supply  is  absorbed  in  the  following  manner : 

Gallons. 


Confectioners  150 

Ice  cream  plants 100 

Restaurants  200 

Fraternities  and  clubs 100 

Stores  20 

Families  630 


Total 1,200 


Twenty  (20)  per  cent  of  the  milk  sold  in  restaurants  is  bot- 
tled, the  rest  is  dipped.  The  confectioners,  in  addition  to  re- 
ceiving milk  from  the  local  dairymen,  receive  milk  from  Chi- 
cago and  Bloomington*  and  the  ice  cream  plant  uses  condensed 
milk  from  the  same  cities.  The  bakeries  use  very  little  whole 
milk;  condensed  milk,  milk  powder  and  skim  milk  taking  its 
place.  Since  dairying  is  regarded  by  the  average  corn  belt 
farmer  as  of  less  importance  than  crop  growing,  it  follows  that 
dairymen  have  little  capital  invested  in  the  milk  business.  In- 
deed, tenant  farmers  often  find  it  difficult  to  get  their  landlords 
to  so  much  as  keep  the  farm  buildings  in  repair,  and  those 
owners  who  are  willing  to  expend  money  in  improving  the  light- 
ing and  ventilation  of  barns,  building  of  milk  houses  and 
cement  construction  are  more  than  rare.  In  general,  herds  are 
not  more  than  of  fair  quality  and  are  not  tuberculin  tested; 
few  barns  have  cement  floors,  equipment  is  scanty  and  old- 


5 


fashioned;  milk,  if  cooled  at  all,  is  cooled  with  well  water,  and 
cleanliness  is  not  unduly  emphasized.  The  University  dairy  is 
the  only  one  equipped  to  sterilize  milk  bottles,  consequently, 
there  is  the  ever  present  possibility  of  a bottle-borne  epidemic 
occurring. 

About  18  months  ago,  H.  E.  McNatt,  of  the  Dairy  Depart- 
ment of  the  University,  scored  a good  many  dairies  supplying 
Urbana  and  Champaign.  Twenty  (20)  of  these  are  still  in 
business;  they  have  an  average  score  of  11.9  for  equipment, 
13.1  for  methods,  and  a total  average  score  of  25.5  out  of  a pos- 
sible 100.  This  is  believed  to  fairly  represent  the  state  of  the 
average  dairy  farm  in  the  vicinity.  Under  such  conditions  it 
is  difficult  to  produce  milk  that  is  of  uniform  quality  or  even 
milk  that  is  tolerably  clean. 

From  time  to  time  the  City  of  Champaign,  dealers  and  others 
have  furnished  samples  of  milk  to  the  Dairy  Department  of 
the  University  to  have  the  fat  content  determined  and  bacterial 
counts  made.  In  this  way  considerable  information  concern- 
ing the  quality  of  milk  supplied  by  the  different  dealers  has 
been  acquired.  The  average  results  that  have  been  obtained 
on  the  milk  of  the  principal  dealers  are  these : 


Dealer. 

No.  of 
Samples. 

Lacto- 

meter 

% Fat. 

Bacteria  per  c.c. 

L.  D.  Wilson 

37 

31.3 

3.5 

14,900 

Urbana  Dairy 

17 

31.7 

4.6 

453,000 

Champaign  Creamery 

65 

31.4 

4.1 

196,000 

H.  P.  Stinespring. . . . 

23 

32.6 

4.3 

49,000 

E.  N.  Kirby 

6 

32.0 

4.6 

44,000 

Rogerson  

3 

30.8 

4.0 

106,000 

H.  G.  Fry 

6’ 

33.0 

4.3 

34,000 

E.  Cline 

Pasteurized  milk  from 

5 > 

31.1 

4.3 

89,000 

Peoria,  Bloomington 
and  Chicago 

14 

32.8 

3.5 

240,000 

Total 

. 1,225,900 

Average 

. 136,211 

6 


These  samples  were  taken  in  the  cooler  months  of  the  year 
when  bacterial  counts  would  run  lower  than  in  summer  time. 

Perhaps  the  best  picture  of  milk  offered  the  public  is  obtained 
from  the  results  of  tests  that  were  made  in  October,  1913,  of 
the  milk  of  all  the  producers  of  two  of  the  large  distributors, 
to  wit : 


DAIRY  A. 

October  14,  1913. 


Number  of 

Acid  Forming  Total  Number  of 


No.  Lactometer. 

% Fat. 

% Acid.* 

Bacteria  per  cc. 

Bacteria  per  c.c. 

1 

31.2 

4.0 

.187 

60,000 

210,000 

2-D 

31.3 

4.2 

.1835 

200,000 

290,000 

3 

30.2 

4.8 

.180 

800,000 

800,000 

4 

31.2 

3.8 

.216 

120,000 

150,000 

5 

32.1 

5.0 

.169 

700,000 

1,000,000 

6 

30.6 

3.9 

?> 

00 

T—i 

60,000 

430,000 

7 

31.2 

3.9 

.191 

no  acid  colonies 

20,000 

8 

31.5 

4.2 

.177 

200,000 

290,000 

9 

30.0 

3.5 

.192 

140,000 

280,000 

10 

32.1 

4.8 

.169 

20,000 

160,000 

11 

31.4 

4.3 

.180 

70,000 

120,000 

12 

30.6 

4.0 

.173 

2,500,000 

3,800,000 

13 

31.2 

3.4 

.187 

220,000 

370,000 

14 

31.9 

3.75 

.187 

no  acid  colonies 

600,000 

16 

30.0 

3.2 

.216 

825,000 

830,000 

16 

31.6 

3.6 

.205 

90,000 

900,000 

17 

32.5 

4.7 

.223 

no  acid  colonies 

430,000 

Wil 

30.7 

3.7 

.1655 

150,000 

234,000 

100 

31.3 

3.9 

.180 

300,000 

1,700,000 

Total 13,614,000 

Average 664,000 


* Expressed  as  Eactic  Acid. 


7 


DAIRY  B. 

October  17,  1913. 


No.  of 


No. 

% Fat. 

% Acid.* 

Acid  Forming 
Bacteria  per  c.c. 

Total  Number  of 
Bacteria  per  c.c. 

1 

4.3 

.180 

170,000 

410,000 

2 

3.1 

.213 

7,390,000 

7,400,000 

3 

3.8 

.184 

740,000 

930,000 

4 

4.0 

.216 

3,950,000 

4,000,000 

5 

3.6 

.234 

49,990,000 

50,000,000 

6 

3.2 

.220 

408,000 

410,000 

7 

4.0 

.220 

900,000 

1,600,000 

8 

2.7 

.220 

570,000 

670,000 

9 

3.4 

.188 

2,500,000 

2,600,000 

10 

3.6 

.216 

8,000,000 

8,600,000 

11 

2.9 

.162 

1,060,000 

1,460,000 

12 

4.4 

.205 

25,200,000 

26,500,000 

13 

3.3 

.1945 

6,750,000 

6,800,000 

14 

6.2 

.220 

1,430,000 

1,650,000 

15 

3.0 

.177 

1,990,000 

2,500,000 

16 

3.7 

.229 

0 

27,000,000 

17 

3.4 

.198 

470,000 

500,000 

IS 

5.5 

.1765 

110,000 

240,000 

19 

4.4 

.213 

32,495,000 

32,500,000 

20 

4.0 

.162 

110,000 

120,000 

21 

3.6 

.159 

140,000 

170,000 

Total 176,060,000 

Average 8,383,000 

The  owners  of  these  dairies  have  said  that  the  farmers  de- 
liver the  milk  to  them  the  year  round  uniced;  that  from  late 
spring  to  early  autumn  its  temperature  ranges  between  60°  and 
75°  F.  and  that  the  farmers  often  fail  to  cool  the  morning’s 
milk.  So  it  seems  probable  that  the  high  bacterial  counts  are 


* Expressed  as  lyactic  Acid. 


8 


in  great  part  due  to  lack  of  icing,  but  they  are  not  to  be  ex- 
plained wholly  on  this  ground,  for  most  of  the  milk  yields  dirt 
aplenty  on  being  passed  through  a Wisconsin  or  a Wizard 
sediment  tester. 

A factor  in  the  situation  is  the  University  Dairy  which  is 
operated  by  the  University  of  Illinois  for  instructional  purposes 
and  which  puts  out  daily  75  gallons  of  clean  milk  and  cream 
from  tuberculin  tested  cows.  Milk  is  delivered  in  Urbana  and 
Champaign  to  both  faculty  people  and  town  folk.  The  demand 
for  it  greatly  exceeds  the  supply  because  it  is  known  to  be  pro- 
duced from  healthy  animals  and  tO'  be  carefully  handled.  Some 
attempt  is  made  to  provide  for  invalids  and  ailing  babies  during 
their  necessity,  but  otherwise  the  customers  change  but  little 
from  year  to  year  and  so  the  influence  of  the  dairy  on  the  trade 
may  be  closely  estimated  by  dealers.  The  following  table  shows 
the  results  of  tests  that  have  been  made  during  the  past  two 
years  of  the  milk  of  the  dairy. 

University  Dairy. 


August  16,  1911 — December  31,  1911. 


No.  of  Samples. 

Milk 9 

Standardized  milk. . . 78 
Cream  40 


% Fat. 

Bacteria  per  C.C. 

3.6 

27,400 

4.1 

428,200 

27.8 

474,900 

January  1,  1912 — December  31,  1912. 


Milk 264  3.6  37,800 

Standardized  milk.  .. 346  4.1  46,500 

Cream ..299  25.1  130,000 

January  1,  1913 — August  31,  1913. 

Milk  236  3.3  10,500 

Standardized  milk.  . .235  4.1  11,100 

Cream  236  23.9  ‘ 85,500 


These  figures  need  some  comment.  When  Professor  Rick- 
ards took  charge  of  the  University  Dairy  it  was  putting  out  a 
milk  that  was  not  particularly  satisfactory  and  that  had  a high 


9 


and  variable  bacterial  content.  Steps  were  at  once  taken  to  im- 
prove the  supply  and  efforts  in  this  direction  are  still  continuing. 
The  high  bacterial  count  in  1912  and  1913,  is  in  part  to  be 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  natural  milk  is  enriched  or 
standardized  to  4 per  cent  by  the  addition  of  cream.  This 
cream  is  obtained  by  skimming  the  night’s  milk  with  a sepa- 
rator, is  kept  overnight  in  an  ice-box  and  is  added  to  the  morn- 
ing’s milk.  There  is  nothing  commendable  in  this  practice  but 
it  was  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  the  University  Dairy 
advertised  4 per  cent  milk  at  a time  when  its  herd,  being  com- 
posed almost  wholly  of  Holsteins,  did  not  produce  milk  of  this 
richness.  More  Guernsey  and  Jersey  blood  has  been  introduced 
into  the  herd  and  it  is  hoped  that  soon  standardizing  may  be 
abandoned. 

The  University  Dairy  provides  practical  experience  for  stu- 
dents taking  the  course  in  City  Milk  Supply;  it  provides  a good 
quality  of  raw  milk  for  a few,  and  it  has  enabled  dairymen  to 
get  a good  price  for  their  milk  because  it  has  created  discrimi- 
nating customers  and  so  a demand  for  good  milk. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  must  be  apparent  that  good  milk 
is  difficult  to  obtain  in  Urbana  and  Champaign.  The  milk  sup- 
plied the  towns  should  be  much  better  than  it  is.  Under  pres- 
ent conditions  mothers  are  at  their  wits  end  to  get  milk  that 
they  feel  is  safe  to  carry  babies  through  the  first  two  years  of 
infancy,  and  the  managers  of  fraternities  and  other  student 
clubs  find  it  impossible  to  get  milk  of  the  quality  they  desire. 
However,  the  supply  has  been  improved  in  the  last  two  years 
by,  first,  public  lectures  on  milk  given  by  members  of  the  Dairy 
Department  and  others,  and  by  efforts  to  interest  farmers 
through  inspection  of  their  farms,  etc. ; second,  by  one  of  the 
large  dealers  slowly  and  steadily  eliminating  slovenly  farmers 
from  his  producers ; third,  by  some  of  the  smaller  dealers  seeing 
a chance  to  get  trade  by  improving  their  farms  and  methods. 
Still,  results  are  coming  very  slowly,  and  it  seems  unlikely  that 
any  great  improvement  will  be  made  within  a reasonable  time. 


V. 


10 


i. 

To  the  vfriter  it  seems  likely  that  the  problem  will  be  solved 
in  one  of  the  following  three  ways : 

1.  By  some  local  man  putting  enough  capital  into  the  busi- 
ness to  enable  him  to  operate  his  farm  on  a large  scale,  with 
modern  labor-saving  machinery,  and  a first-class  equipment  for 
bottling  milk,  and  sterilizing  milk  bottles,  etc. 

Amongst  the  difficulties  such  a one  would  have  to  contend 
with  are  bad  roads  and  the  fluctuating  demand  for  milk,  caused 
by  the  floating  population  of  faculty  and  students.  Thus,  this 
population  on  June  1,  1913,  numbered  4,014;  by  July  1 it  was 
reduced  to  784,  and  on  the  first  of  August  to  nothing.  On 
October  1 it  was  increased  to  4,384. 

3.  Some  large  dealer  in  Chicago,  Peoria,  Kankakee  or  else- 
where may  capture  the  trade  from  the  local  dealers  and  farmers 
by  shipping  in  milk  and  at  the  same  time  inaugurating  a deliv- 
ery system  that  shall  have  courteous  employees  and  be  re- 
liable. That  this  has  not  actually  happened  is,  perhaps,  because 
the  entire  milk  trade  of  the  two  cities  is  not  large  enough  to 
be  particularly  tempting  to  capital. 

3.  A serious  milk  borne  epidemic  may  convince  both  business 
men  and  the  University  that  an  efficiently  regulated  supply  is  a 
necessity. 


